Website Ideas: Color and Font Roles in Design & Visitor Traffic

If you are choosing to design your own website or seeking to identify whether a graphic designer is right for your website ideas, it's a good idea to understand how color and font choices affect your website design and visitor experience.

First impressions happen in less than 3 seconds - your website is no different!

What role does color play in Website Design and Function?

Choosing the right look and feel in your website design is imperitive to how visitors will respond to your website.If you already have your business logo, you will most likely utilize colors in your website ideas that complement this look. The kind of colors and background you choose determine the intensity of traffic to your website. If the website is full of bright colors that are unpleasant to the viwer's sight, visitors might not like to stay longer. On the other hand, if light and soothing background colors are chosen, and a professional look and feel is imparted through the organization, it leaves a greater impact on the reader. When it comes to your website ideas, logo design, and other advertising and business marketing - be sure you know what your color choices are saying.

Some background on Colors:

Red is the most emotional color that will deliver any one of the following feelings to your visitors depending on the mannerism you use it and intents you have to use it: Energy, strength, passion, eroticism, fire, lust, desire, blood, risk, war, danger, attention and romance. 


Pink is an easy one and is more of a soft color that will deliver the following feelings: Romance, love, friendship, femininity, truth, passivity, good will, emotional healing, peace, calming, affection, emotional maturity, caring, nurturing, sweet tasting, sweet smelling, ethereal, delicacy. It can also give the emotion of devoting to breast cancer. For obvious reasons you can see why the National Breast Cancer Foundation chose this color for the breast cancer awareness month.


Orange is a stimulating color and is used to be associated with life and health. In restaurants it is used to encourage appetite. Orange is also associated with being tropical, fresh and invigorating. Orange usually is associated with the following feelings: warmth, energy, vibrancy, the sun, friendly, intense, joy, tropics, growing things, heat, creativity, autumn, earth, appetite stimulant, and youth.

Brown is an earthy tone and usually is associated with growth and life. When using brown it is usually to associate with health and nature. The typical emotions derived from brown are: earth, materialistic thoughts, home, outdoors, inexpensive, reliability, credibility, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity, comfort, longevity, intimacy, tranquility, masculine, nurturing, contentment, fertility, generosity, dirt, substance, practicality, and hard work. Brown is best used with a texture to imply these things, otherwise it is simply just to plain of a color.


Gold is a color that exerts wealth and has a general sense of class associated with it. In order for it to be used properly to get these connotations though it must be shiny in some mannerism otherwise it looks cheap. Money and wealth are the two main and universal associations with the color gold.


Yellow is said to stimulate mental activity and be one of the primary colors of attention. When using yellow it is best to not use it too lightly or loses it’s stimulating effects. The typical emotions that are derived from yellow are: intelligence, light, cooperation, sunshine, joy, happiness, intellect, energy, cheerfulness, optimism, purity, warmth, honor, caution (only when used in small amounts), cowardice, imagination, hope, summer, philosophy, uncertainty, restlessness, glory, and enlightenment.


Green is an earthy and calming color that can also imply intelligence also. It also has the implications of money with it but typically only in the US. Typically green is associated with the following emotions: earth mother, physical healing, monetary success, abundance, fertility, growth, renewal, youth, stability, endurance, freshness, nature, environment, tranquil, refreshing, quiet, hope, immortality, health, healing, good luck, renewal, youth, jealousy, trees, grass, vigour, growth, harmony, envy, calm, contemplation, and friendliness.


Blue is the color of wisdom and trust, it is also the favorite color of over 2/3 of the world and is least disliked by most cultures. This may be because the sky is blue and the water reflects the sky making most things seen on the planet blue. It is generally associated with technology and progressive creativity. The most common feelings that people have with blue are: communication, wisdom, protection, spiritual inspiration, calmness, reassurance, fluidity, water, sea, creativity, peace, calming, higher thoughts, the sky, devotion, progress, freedom. trust, loyalty, intelligence, reassurance, artistry, compassion, sadness, tranquility, confidence, security, cleanliness, order, comfort, cold, technology, intellect, ideas, sharing, empathy, relaxation, affection, inspiration, friendship, patience, contemplation, infinity, harmony, non-threatening, and dependability.


Purple is a color typically associated with royalty and is also the most liked color of pre-adolescent children over any other color. When thinking about purple the most common feeling are: influence, spiritual power, self assurance, dignity, high aspirations, royalty, spirituality, nobility, ceremony, mystery, transformation, sophistication, arrogance, dreams, imagination, wealth, extravagance, magic, creativity, energy, ego, ambition, fame, luxury, and power.


White is a pure color and is typically associated with being good and is the most religious color. The typical emotions that are derived from white are: spirituality, peace, higher self, purity, virginity, reverence, simplicity, cleanliness, humility, precision, innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility, cold, clinical, sterility, clarity, perfection, innocence, goodness, light, fairness, safety, positivity, faith, coolness, charity, union, self-sacrifice, holiness, feminine divinity, pristine, chastity and positivity.


Black is a color that has mysterious and sometimes negative connotations that can create the wrong image if used improperly. The typical feelings that are derived from black are: protection, repelling negativity, power, sexuality, sophistication, elegance, mystery, fear, evil, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, underground, space, secretiveness, night, emptiness, dramatic, authority, prestige, grief, anger, and serious.
 

What role does font play in Website Design and Function?

Most people who come to your site will be looking for textual information. The important visitors being search engines. You will need ample text on your website pages to help with seo - but it will also play a strong role in your website visitors experience. The use of fonts will work alongside your color choices. A font can be understood as a collection of letters, symbols or numbers such as bold, roman, or italic characters. There are literally thousands of possible fonts but you will most likely deal with a few common ones when it comes to website ideas, design templates, graphic designers and social websites like Blogger.

This is because there are only a handful of fonts that look similar that are installed by default on both Windows and Macs. Consequently, these "browser safe fonts" find their way into almost every website out there. Here is an image from screen shots from a Windows machine and a Mac (blue) to show the browser safe fonts and how they compare on each platform.

Some background on Font Styles:

Block Fonts - Arial, Lucida, Trebuchet & Verdana
These fonts are simple and bold. They are easy to read for most people but usually lack in terms of style.

Serif Fonts - Book Antiqua, Palatino, Comic Sans, Georgia & Times New Roman
These can be used to add more style to your text but be aware that they can be difficult to read if too small in size.


All in all, choosing the right combination of colors and the size of the text plays a remarkable role in enhancing the website architecture and overall appearance. Be sure to consider this when coming up with website ideas and designs for yourself or when choosing to hire a graphic designer. Always ask to see their website portfolio. If you aren't sure about something - poll your family, friends and clients. Designing a website is not a perfect science so make sure your put the effort in to ensure it accurately represents your business. Remember - you only have one chance for your website to make that first impression.

Save Time & Money with Online Forms

This seems like a no brainer but let's break it down...

Do you have forms that customers, vendors or other associates need to complete?

If you answered "yes" then you could start saving time and money by offering these forms on your website.

How do I make the form available?
You don't need to get fancy here. The easiest way to put a form on your website is to scan it and upload it as a pdf or jpeg file (pdf is a portable document file that most people have the ability to open. You can download the software for free from Adobe if you don't have the software). Then make a link to the file and in a click - a visitor can download the form.

If you need a more comprehensive option you can always use an online form builder like JotForm which is fairly simple to use and is free.

How do I use it to save money?
Now of course most businesses provide these paper forms for completion in their office or by mail but when you offer an online version - customers can go on your website, download and print the form themselves. They can complete it on their own time and bring it in ready to go. Many businesses who require completed client profiles, release waivers and other documents find that they spend less time waiting for a client to complete the form and more time engaging with them for the sale or appointment. It's called efficiency!

Plus you just saved on paper cost! Now, you might already email the forms as part of your daily routine but remember - that takes your time, which is valuable. Imagine if you had to email 50 people their release forms - what if all you had to say was - "Go to our site to download our new customer form"? Can you imagine what you can get accomplished with that amount of time saved?

Will my client like this option?
Everyone is different. You might have older clients who are not as internet savvy who still like their paper form and pencil. Others will like that they don't have to worry about losing the form or spilling something on it because they know where they can go get another one. The fact is that most people use the internet in their daily life and find it conveinant to have resources at their fingertips. Being able to get what they need from you 24/7 makes you look professional.

Before we go - make sure you remember to keep your forms small in file size for fast downloads and stay away from programs that not everyone might have like MS Word or Excel. Stick with PDF or JPEG files that anyone can open - but not alter. AND MAKE SURE YOUR NAME AND LOGO ARE ON IT so they know who the form belongs to.

Why Should I Link to Others on My Website?

There can be quite a bit of disagreement on this subject so we will cover both sides of the issue: Should you put links to outside websites on your website?

Cons - Let's hit the bad news first

• People will leave my page - it's true that when a visitor clicks on a link they might leave your page however nowadays most links can be made to open in a new window allowing the visitor to see the new page while still maintaining a connection with your page.
• It gives away my search ranking - it's possible but there are algorithmic changes taking place right now that may change this and actually give you a higher ranking for having external links.
• It could hurt my reputation - if you are not careful who you are linking to, it could be damaging to your internet reputation. Make sure any website that you connect with distributes accurate content and practices safe browsing (ie: cookies, spamming, viruses etc.) When in doubt - don't link.
• Too many links doesn't look good to search engine spiders - we've all stumbled on those sites that promise to deliver information on something only to find that the page is full of links to other places. Search engines work hard to downplay these types of sites so if you use external links too often - you could get caught in that group. It does take an abundance of links to draw this kind of attention.

Pros - now for the good stuff

• Establish yourself as a resource center - if people see that they can get to the places they want to go from your site (usually relevant to your industry and their interest) they will remember that you are the go-to website to visit.
• Double Sided Linking - You can swap links with affiliates and associated vendors. Back links from other websites does help search engine ranking and so when you link to someone they should be willing to link back to you. Linking can be a two-way street!
• It could help your reputation - yes just as linking to bad sites can hurt you, linking to good, trusted sites can help you. If you are a member of an organization, ask if they have a member badge that can link to your listing on their site or their home page. People will see that you are affiliated with that group and the organization will have gotten a back link to their site.
• It encourages participation and cooperation - There are a lot of very smart, very dedicated, talented people on the web that can either contribute to making your efforts more successful or inhibit your growth. When you link out, especially in a consistent, opportunity-driven way, you build incentives for the bloggers, social media sophisticates, online journalists, website builders & forum participants to engage with your site. Granted, when you're small and just starting out, the incentive is small, but don't underestimate the power of rewarding your community - it's built some of the most amazing brands on (and off) the web.

Okay we admit it - we might be a little biased but it really is up to you!

How to Choose a Good Website Domain Name?

In the modern world of the Internet, where people automatically turn to the Web for information, your domain name needs to be unique to you to actively lead people to your business. Customers have short memories; they will not memorize an unrelated URL. Keep it simple for your customers and visitors and uniquely related to your business. Here are some useful answers...


What is a Domain Name?

Just to make sure we're all on the same page here, a domain name is the web address that leads people to your web site. Just the same as your home address, web browsers will direct people to your site via your domain name which ususally starts with 'www.' and ends with .com, .net, .co, .biz, .org etc.


Should My Domain Name Match My Business Name?
In most cases....yes! Example: If my business name is Bloomin Flowers then my website domain name might be http://www.bloominflowers.com/ or http://www.bloomin-flowers.com/. This makes it easy for people to find my website just by searching for my business by name. You want your site to be easy to find and easy to get to. Many new businesses search for and secure their domain name before officially naming their business for this reason.

Not every domain name matches the business name, surprising but true.Suppose those domain names for Bloomin Flowers are taken already. So instead I get http://www.bf.com/ which is my initials but rather obscure since it doesn't delinate what my business is. What happens when my customers type in Bloomin Flowers in a search engine. My competitors' sites will show up first and if I haven't actively made my website search engine friendly, my site might not show up or be recognizable.


What if I can't Match my Domain Name to My Business Name?
Your domain name choice may be already bought and could be a lot of time and money to get ownership of it. You have to determine how important the one you want is and how much you may be willing to spend to buy it from the party that already owns it. Check up the "whois" information for the domain, and contact that person listed to see if they're willing to sell it.

On the other hand, if you're just starting out, you might prefer the cheaper alternative of trying to obtain a domain name first, and then naming your website (or business) after the domain that you've acquired. This may seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but that's the reality if you don't want to lose out on the Internet.

Sometimes adjusting the domain name slightly will allow you to get a domain name that matches your business without having to pay extra. Here are some factors to consider...
Abreviations versus KeywordsDomain names can be of any length up to 67 characters. Some argue that shorter domain names are easier to remember, easier to type and far less susceptible to mistakes. Plus if you work with your initials alot you can incorporate this into your marketing. Example: www. RCDbyJohn.com for a business called Really Cool Designs by John. It's increasingly difficult to get short meaningful domain names because most have been sold already. If you manage to get a short domain name though, the key is to make sure it's a meaningful combination of characters and not hard to type and remember

Others argue that a longer domain name is usually easier on the human memory - for example, "gaepw.com" is a sequence of unrelated letters that is difficult to remember and type correctly, whereas if we expand it to its long form, "GetAnEconomicallyPricedWebsite.com", we are more likely to remember the domain name. If you have a tagline that you use often, it can be positive to use that as a domain name. Long domain names that have your site keywords in them also have an advantage in that they seach better in the search engines. This is the key to being found on the internet, can the search engines find your company.
Try to avoid extremely long names verging on 67 characters. Aside from the obvious problem that people might not be able to remember such a long name, it would also be a chore typing it and trying to fit it as a title on your web page.

Hyphenated Domain Names

• Cons

1. Hphens are easy to forget when typing a name. Many users are used to typing things like freecomputertools.com but not free-computer-tools.com. They'll probably leave out the hyphens and end up at your competitor's site.

2. When people recommend your site verbally, having hyphens in your domain name leads to more potential errors.


• Pros

1. Search engines can distinguish your keywords better and thus return your site more prominently in search results for those keywords occurring in your domain name.

2. The non-hyphenated form may no longer be available. At least this way, you still get the domain name you want.


Different forms of Domains with plurals: the and my
Very often, if you can't get the domain name you want, the domain name registrar will suggest alternate forms of the name you typed. For example, if you wanted website.com, and it was taken (of course it is), it might suggest forms like:

thewebsite.com

mywebsite.com

websites.com

and the like, if they were not already taken as well. The question is, should you go with one of these options?

If you take the "the..." and "my..." forms of the domain name, you must remember to promote your site with the full form of the name. Otherwise, people are likely to forget to affix the necessary "the" or "my".

On the other hand, do not take the plural form of the domain name (eg, websites.com) if you cannot also get "website.com", since the chance of the visitor failing to type the "s" in the name is very great.

Domain Name Endings or Extensions
What if you cannot get the “.com” domain but the “.net” or “.org” or others are available. Are these others ok for domain addresses? The answer is not as simple as you might think and should fit your business needs based on some of the features covered below.

.com - the most popular and widely recognized domain extension in the world. It usually pops up first in search results and people are more likely to type it over any other ending. May be registered by anyone. Get it if you can!

.net - used frequently when the .com version of your domain name has been taken. Widely used for internet infrastructure as well.

.info - associated with websites that provide information as opposed to sales. This can be useful for businesses who publish articles and is recognized world wide.

.co - this is a new extension that provides people options if their domains are taken in other widely recognized domain extensions. International recognition and easy to remember.

.biz - made specifically for business and ecommerce sites such as online stores.

.org - popular extension for non-profit and non-commercial organizations as well as highlighting a business or companies charitable features.

.mobi - can be easily viewed on a mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet.

.me - usually reserved for blogs, online resumes or portfolios of an individual

There are other domain extensions that relate to specific countries as well as one's that must be a qualified group to obtain (Example: only an official school can get a .edu extension or government agency use .gov etc)

Can I Have More Than One Domain Name?
Absolutely! Multiple domain names can point to the same website. In fact if you are a new business it's best to secure your domain name with multiple extensions to protect it from a competitor. You can create other search word filled domain names to point to your website but it's a good idea to make sure the domain names are relevant to your content so as not to draw negative attention from search engines.

The best idea is to get your domain name first....before you even make your business offcial! If you're already in business, follow the above hints or seek help from a marketing strategist who understands search engine optimization and establishing a professional web presence.

Get a Higher Rank in Search Engines with Your Website

This seems like every website owners nemesis. If you have your own website, you want visitors to come an visit. However if you want to drive more traffic or more visitors to your site then search engine optimization is what you'll want to focus on. Search engine optimization draws natural traffic to any web-blog or internet site. There are many ways to help make your site SEO friendly but here are four starters.

1. Time: You should always keep in mind that it will take time and energy to achieve good results. No one can achieve higher ranking in search engines in a few minutes or few hours. Some people do this full time. If you think that spending 10 minutes a week on your website will get you the response you want, you will most likely be disappointed. If you can, set aside an hour a day to optimize your site. Can't spend an hour? Do what you can or consider hiring a website manager or media manager.

2. Keep the Content Fresh: If you design your website and then never update it, search engines will classify the content as "old." So what? Well, the people who program the search engines believe that searchers want content that is current and up to date. Older content will rank lower than content that is updated monthly, weekly or daily. Adding articles, blogs, specials etc will keep your website changing and current. Ideally, you want people to visit your site every day, right? So give them (and the search engines) something new to look at.

3. All Roads Should Lead to You: If you had a storefront on a one way street, your traffic would be limited by the people driving by going that one direction right? If you want more people walking or driving by, (ie: more exposure), you will need more roads leading to you. The same goes with your website. Yes, you have a domain name that leads to you but that's only as good as that one-way road. You need to get your business and domain out in other places that lead to you as well. Do you have affiliated businesses that would put a link to youron their site if you put a link to them on yours? Do it! Put your business on free social sites as well. Getting your business in multiple locations will create more exposure and links (roads) to your site which will help validate you for search engines and get you found.

4. Watch your Words: When people type a phrase in a search engine like "affordable website design" the search engine will look for websites and webpages that have those specific words in their content. Search engines are not free-thinking people, they're robots that index your site for words. A search engine will not recognize that "affordable website design" is the same as "cheap web developement." You have to pay attention to the words you use and put yourself in your "visitor's" shoes. You also can't expect to come up in high ranks just because you used some keywords once or twice, they need to appear frequently and appropriately. If I say a page is about "web design," words and phrases on that page should apply to that topic rather than phrases like "cheap cell phone service." Yes people might search for cheap cell phones but they aren't looking for your page on website design. If a search engine thinks you're being misleading or keyword stuffing then they could block your site altogether.

There is no easy perfect solution to search engine optimization for your website. These four tips can get you started. If you need help with optimizing your website there are website managers and social media managers who can help allieviate the burden.

Good Luck and let us know if you have questions/need help!